Learning about the blood-brain barrier, graduate school and environmental justice

     The SURF participants met with Dr. Anika Hartz for lunch on Monday.  Dr. Hartz studies regulation of the blood-brain barrier function in neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s disease, epilepsy and brain cancer.  You can read more about her here-http://pharmns.med.uky.edu/users/amha283#profileTab4.  Dr. Hartz did most of her scientific training in Germany.  We had a great discussion comparing and contrasting the scientific opportunities in Germany as compared to those in the United States.

    On Tuesday afternoon, both groups met with the Dean of the Graduate School, Dr. Brian Jackson (https://physiology.med.uky.edu/users/jackson).  He is also a Professor in the Physiology department who has spent the majority of his research career studying renal function.  Dr. Jackson was trained in the United Kingdom and talked quite a bit about the differences in his training compared to what is typical in the United States.  We also discussed the different graduate programs and training opportunities available at the University of Kentucky.  Dr. Jackson also addressed questions pertaining to the application process and provided insights on what made a successful application.

   

On Thursday, we watched the movie, Erin Brockovich.  This movie is based on a true story wherein a legal assistant (who is also a single mother) discovers that the Pacific Gas and Electric Company has been contaminating the drinking water of a small town (Hinkley, California) with the carcinogen, hexavalent chromium.  When she realizes that a large number of the residents have serious medical problems, she initiates efforts towards a major class action lawsuit.  During our discussion, we learned that this story has many parallels to Adam's work who is studying tricloroethylene with Dr. Kelly Pennell in the College of Engineering.